


Tempest of Death and Sorrow

by FoxyEmperor



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Gen, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Seteth’s POV, Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Seteth and Flayn’s A-Support, Spoilers for Seteth and Flayn’s paralogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28004391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyEmperor/pseuds/FoxyEmperor
Summary: Within the hour, Garreg Mach was painted red from all the blood spilt. While Edelgard was not yet victorious, it almost appeared that way with how much of her color paved the land and covered the fallen knights. Their blood might as well now be the crimson flags of the Adrestian Empire.Crimson Flower, Ch. 15: Tempest of Swords and Shields, in Seteth’s point of view.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Tempest of Death and Sorrow

**Author's Note:**

> I figured I should take a small break away from writing romance. This is the result.

“The enemy has sighted us! Catherine, you and I will take down those scouts and attack the bulk of the Imperial army,” ordered Rhea. 

Catherine puffed out her chest in pride, invigorated to finally fight alongside her archbishop. She turned to the knights closest to her, gesturing for them to follow. “Forward! Let’s end this once and for all! For Seiros! For Lady Rhea!” she exclaimed confidently, unsheathing Thunderbrand and pointed it towards the heavens. 

Rhea turned to look at her second-in-command, her icy green eyes intensely focused. “I leave the reclaiming of Garreg Mach in your hands, Seteth. Do not fail me. Do not fail mother,” she said quietly enough to him that others couldn’t overhear, though there was a chilling edge to her voice.

Seteth’s darker green eyes bored into hers resolutely, his face set in a deep frown. He nodded his assent, “It will be done.”

After Rhea and her company left to face the incoming Imperial army, Seteth sighed. He surveyed the forest around him. While these trees were nowhere near as old as he, the knowledge that these ancient conifers will likely soon be consumed by the flames of war saddened him. He then looked up at the great architecture that was Garreg Mach. While far from its former glory; with its crumbled towers, shredded banners, and scattered cobblestone, it still stood. And that was enough.

“It feels like only yesterday that we once called this place our home...” lamented Seteth. Shaking away his nostalgia, he firmly continued, “We must show these fools the error of their ways. They shall pay for the sin of invading Garreg Mach...”

Next to him was his daughter, Flayn, whom looked distressed. “Oh, but the professor is fighting alongside our foe! The same one who saved my life...” she said woefully as she wrung her hands together with anxiety. 

Seteth hesitated. He had not forgotten the professor’s great deed. He had always felt that whomever was willing to put their life at risk for the sake of his daughter would automatically earn his trust. However, given the circumstances, it wasn’t that simple anymore. He could not ignore all the suffering the professor caused, regardless of them saving Flayn’s life in the past. “That is true... Though I find forgiveness difficult, we do owe that wayward soul a debt. However, the fact remains that because of the professor, Rhea has long been tormented.” 

Though Rhea wasn’t the only one who had felt betrayed by the professor. Despite his initial wariness towards the archbishop’s decision to hire the unknown mercenary, he had slowly began to trust the professor. He eventually developed so much faith in them that they were the first and only human that he had divulged his and Flayn’s true relationship. Seteth was then devastated when he had learned that they aligned with the very people who had harmed Flayn. Clenching his fists, he furiously resumed his rant, “To think that the vessel of the goddess, entrusted with the Sword of the Creator, could go on to... Ah, it angers me to even think of it!” 

But Seteth reigned himself back in, controlling his anger, for he had a battle to lead and he didn’t want to scare Flayn with his outburst. “All that has happened has changed Rhea. I imagine it has changed the professor as well. Even if we prevail, I doubt that the church can ever fully return to the way it once was...” 

Seteth had seen Rhea’s cold, ruthlessness in the past when she had taken on the persona of Seiros. While it helped her become the leader necessary to lead their army in The War of Heroes against Nemesis, it was not a side of Rhea he had hoped to ever see again. Ever since the professor’s betrayal 5 years ago, Rhea seemed to have shifted back into her Seiros role, and it scared Seteth.

“Umm... Brother?” said Flayn uncertainly, her sweet, innocent voice breaking Seteth out of his dark thoughts. 

Seteth smiled sadly as he stepped closer to her, caressing her rosy cheek. “Dear Flayn. I only brought you with me because you were so insistent,” he strained with a pinched expression. He had fought tooth and nail to stop her from joining the knights on their long march through Ailell, but Rhea had for some reason insisted that she come along. He couldn’t battle both his daughter and sister on the matter, especially if said sister held more authority than him. He sighed, “Still, no matter what happens, you must not go near the front lines. If something were to happen to you, it would utterly destroy me. You are my reason for breathing. Do you understand?” And it was true. He had lived many years and experienced much pain, but he wasn’t infallible. He would not survive the loss of his daughter. 

“I...I understand,” Flayn said hesitantly. “If something were to happen to you, it would break my heart. I could not go on either. I cannot help but wonder...if there is a way to end this without fighting the professor...”

Before Seteth could reply, he was interrupted by Alois, “Seteth, we are mobilized and ready for battle. What are your orders?”

Looking between his captain and his other lieutenant, Shamir, he divulged his plan to take back the monastery. It involved some secrecy and cunning, but if they were careful and executed the plan just right, they might all make it out alive with a victory. 

After splitting up the divisions between the frontal assault and the secret unit, and instructing Flayn once again to stay far away from the front lines, they marched ahead towards Garreg Mach. Considering that it was they that had lived at Garreg Mach, they knew the area far better than the enemy that currently inhabited it so they were easily able to slip past the outer Imperial guards. 

They had almost made it all the way to the monastery when Edelgard and her elite team appeared. There was nothing that needed to be said to her; his goal was obvious and he knew she would not give up using Garreg Mach as her personal stronghold. As she exchanged some words with the man he recognized as Hubert von Vestra, Seteth ordered his knights to begin their assault. 

It was finally time to take back Garreg Mach.

Seteth stayed back with his personal wyvern company at first, analyzing his opponent’s movements. To him, it seemed like they didn’t have a real concrete plan other than use overwhelming brute force to kill as many of their enemies as possible. Considering that they likely surmised Seteth having something up his sleeve, he supposed that they aimed to kill enough of his knights in hopes that his weakened numbers would cause his eventual plan to become futile. 

Spotting the perfect moment to enter the battle, Seteth and his battalion swooped in from above with their wyverns. “Trespassing on holy ground is a grave sin indeed. You must atone for it with your life!” shouted Seteth as he descended upon his enemies, swiftly striking them with his blessed lance. He pulled the reins sharply to the left to dodge a barrage of arrows cast from two past Black Eagle students, recognizing them as Bernadetta and Petra. While arrows were a major weakness to flyers, he was more than skillful to make up for his unit type’s flaws. 

Within the hour, Garreg Mach was painted red from all the blood spilt. While Edelgard was not yet victorious, it almost appeared that way with how much of her color paved the land and covered the fallen knights. Their blood might as well now be the crimson flags of the Adrestian Empire. Seteth hadn’t seen this much blood since the battle at the Tailtean Plains so very long ago. His mind was flooded with dark memories of that day; images of ripped flesh and broken bones, phantom sounds of blood curdling screams and shattering weapons as they clashed...the vision of his late-wife’s pale hand falling to the ground as she passed... However Seteth immediately shook away his demented thoughts and forced himself to focus on the current battle. The best way for him to save those he cared for now was to stop living in the past and push forward.

Seteth looked up to see an enemy sniper atop a ruined tower nearby, aiming for his head. He swiftly parried their arrow with his lance as he sped towards them and knocked the archer down to their death before they could fire at him again. After ordering his wyvern riders to knock out the incoming pegasus knights, he looked down to see that many of the Imperial army—including key soldiers— were now amongst the trees, right where he wanted them. He gave the signal for his hidden troops to attack. His surprise attack proved successful as several unsuspecting Imperial soldiers quickly fell to his incoming knights. Despite the unfortunate loss of some of his own, all was going according to plan. 

Until he heard a voice that he had desperately hoped not to hear at this time.

“The time is now! As long as we stand here, you shall not pass!” Flayn appeared with the soldiers in his surprise attack, flanked by her own battalion of priests. 

His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of his only daughter directly disobeying him by putting herself into the heat of the battle. He immediately flew towards her to protect her at all costs. Unfortunately, with his single-minded focus on Flayn, he didn’t notice Caspar throwing a hand axe towards his head. Before the axe could make contact with his face, an arrow flew into the blade, knocking the axe off course, away from Seteth. Breathing a sigh of relief, he whipped his head in the direction from where the arrow originated to see his best sniper, Shamir.

“Don’t lose your head!” she shouted, dodging an attack from a brawler before stabbing an arrow into their eye. “Alois is in close proximity to her, focus on your own fight!”

After confirming that she was correct about Alois’ location, Seteth charged towards Caspar before he could consider throwing another axe at him. Though before he could get close enough to land a hit, Linhardt suddenly warped nearby to fire a spell towards him, only missing him just barely as Seteth performed a barrel roll to avoid the blast. He could not take the two men by himself at the moment so he flew back up into the air to search out his next area of opening.

He quickly spotted a group of Imperial soldiers pushing a barrel of explosives towards where several of his knights were tricked to compile close together in an enclosed area, where there would be no escape for them. Urging his wyvern forward, he dove deeply and threw one of his spare spears at the barrel to prematurely cause it to explode on the enemy. It worked; the soldiers yelled out in pain as their bodies were blown apart, limbs and armor flying in every direction. His knights cheered in thanks as he flew over over them and ordered them to spread out immediately. 

Against his better judgement, his eyes then wandered over to his daughter’s direction once more. A mixture of both pride and regret bloomed within him at the sight of her sending powerful blasts of faith magic towards her opponents. He was proud that she had become so powerful, but he also knew that she had studied long and hard over her magic books so she could help people, not to bring about their demise like she was having to do now. 

Though his assurance of Flayn’s safety was short lived as he spotted the Death Knight himself charging towards Flayn. Anger burned through Seteth at the sight of him, for he had been the one to kidnap his daughter 5 years ago. He would not fail to protect Flayn again. He raced towards the Death Knight, raising his arm to bring his lance down through the knight’s chest. However he was interrupted by a building in close proximity to him exploding into smoke and fire. His wyvern screeched in alarm and he pulled its reins to fly away from the wreckage. 

Furious at missing his chance, he frantically searched for Flayn and the Death Knight once more. He was relieved to see that the Death Knight was currently busy battling one of his priests. It was then that he saw a flash of bright green head towards Flayn and Alois. 

‘ _Byleth!_ ’ Seteth was unexpectedly filled with relief. As much as he despised them for their betrayal, he knew deep down that they wouldn’t harm Flayn. He still had hopes that they would allow him and Flayn reprieve if the battle should end unfavorably for them. 

Feeling that Flayn was safe for the time being, Seteth charged towards the Death Knight again whilst they were still distracted by some of the Knights of Seiros. Just when he had found the perfect opening, he heard a pained yell from Alois. Seteth whipped his head around towards where he had last seen him. The professor stood over Alois, the Sword of the Creator poised to give the killing blow.

Seteth knew it was too late for Alois as he heard him gasp, “Jeralt, I did it... I protected the monastery...” and then it was over for him. The professor had just killed the man who had idolized their father so much. Hope started to fade at the loss of his captain and the newfound knowledge of Byleth falling down a darker path than he had anticipated.

Hope faded even further still when he saw his prodigious archer, Shamir, fall to Dorothea on the other side of the the battle. As skilled as she was, not even Shamir could fully dodge the giant meteor sent her way. While Seteth had seen countless humans die over his long lifespan, especially since they would all fall to the flow of time eventually, he mourned the loss of every one of them. 

Enraged at the death of his comrades, Seteth finally landed a hit to the fast approaching Death Knight. Due to them partially blocking the attack at the last possible moment, his blow wasn’t fatal. However, it was enough to knock him off his black steed and for his helmet to fall off, revealing the face of one of Garreg Mach’s past professors, Jeritza.

Just as Seteth was about to exact his revenge, he heard a triumphant shout that cut through all the other clamor of the battle: “ **I am Ferdinand von Aegir!** ” However it wasn’t the new Duke Aegir’s exclamation that caused Seteth to pause, but for the terrible scream of Flayn.

Time seemed to stop for Seteth as he could do nothing but watch as Ferdinand stabbed clean through Flayn with a weapon he could not help but recognize instantly: the Spear of Assal. The very spear he had entrusted to the professor before revealing his and Flayn’s true relationship, the one he himself had used for countless number of battles throughout his life, was now the one to claim the life of his only daughter. Through the sudden fog in his ears, he could make out his beloved’s final words: “Father, please forgive me... I am returning to mother now...before you do...” 

Agony ripped though him as he saw her move no more. “Flayn! Please, no! No!” he screamed in horror. He collapsed against his wyvern, dropping his lance in the process as the will to fight and live left him. He could feel his throat go raw as he continued to scream in anguish, but he heard nothing. The only voices he could hear in his head were of Flayn’s final words, so closely mirroring his late-wife’s last breaths. He had failed Cethleann just as he had failed his long lost love. No matter how much time he spent trying to protect the ones he cared for most, this was always the outcome. 

He suddenly could feel the long dormant dragon within him try to break free, to allow him to unleash his true form upon his enemies, and to watch the world burn in his flames. It was at this moment that he realized why Rhea was so quick to allow Flayn to accompany them. She had wanted to use his daughter’s likely demise to trigger his most powerful form once more, and turn the war in her favor. She had tried to use him and Flayn for her own purposes. Her desire to defeat the empire had overridden her love for her own family.

Her betrayal further compiled on to his pain. As furious as he was at Rhea and as much as he wanted to watch these heretics suffer, his anger could not compare to the intense sorrow within him. He could not fight anymore, let alone transform into a dragon, now that his heart was utterly broken, his very own crest stone shattered.

Blinded by his own hopelessness, he didn’t immediately notice himself become completely surrounded by his enemy. He watched as each young face from the last Black Eagles house looked up at him, their hands and weapons at the ready to strike him down together. Just as he had began to blearily gaze upon them, lamenting that he couldn’t guide them towards a path of righteousness, he was quickly blasted off his wyvern by one of Hubert’s dark spells.

He fell far, far down. The little bit of his heart that wasn’t shattered into pieces leapt into his throat from the increasing velocity of his descent. His black and gold cape—now in shreds—encompassed him, his emerald colored hair flying about his face without his circlet(which had fallen off from the force of Hubert’s spell) to keep his thick strands in place. 

Seteth didn’t feel himself hit the ground, but with the way everyone was now looking down at him instead of up, he knew he had to have landed. Considering he couldn’t move properly, and blood was gurgling out from his mouth, he also had to be seriously injured. But he felt nothing. Any physical pain paled in comparison to the agony of losing his dearest Flayn.

His vision began to fade, but he could still make out the vivid crimson of Emperor Edelgard as she approached him. Her bright, violet eyes seemed to glow as she took in his pathetic figure. It appeared that her ugly, wicked heart had not yet corrupted her physical beauty. She rose her strange weapon that he didn’t recognize high into the air, poised to give the killing blow. Seteth couldn’t miss the way the blade twitched and writhed, proving that it was created by those who had long wanted the Nabateans dead. The knowledge that he was about to be killed by the bones of his brethren made him sick. 

Off to the side, he pinpointed the luminescent, verdant hair of the professor. They were looking right at him with equally green eyes, seemingly filled with regret. Seteth didn’t have much time to fully interpret their expression as they closed their eyes and turned their face away from him, as if unable to witness his death despite them causing so many. 

Seteth looked back up to see Edelgard’s blade descend upon him. “I’m sorry, Flayn... I couldn’t protect you...” he whispered before everything faded to black. 

And Saint Cichol moved no more.

**Author's Note:**

> **Comments and/or kudos give me life.**


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